YB LAB Online – Chinese Meridians

Chinese Meridians and Yoga

Every time we move, breathe, or stretch, we create an effect on our energy.

In Chinese Medicine, energy is defined as Life Force – Chi, and it is circling within and around us.

Chi moves through our bodies in Meridians, which are like energy rivers that course through every part of the body.

A river needs both movement and boundaries to be able to be a river that flows evenly and effortlessly. Much as Patanjali describes Asana as a Steady and Easeful Pose, our Chi also needs to be steady and stable, moving in and out of the source of everflowing essence.

The Twelve Meridians

The Chinese view of human health differs from the Western view, as Chinese have always focused attention on the function rather than the form of the vital organs. We will use these Meridian pathways as a way to work in Yoga Asana.

Western medical human physiology is based upon the anatomical locations of various organs, while the Chinese concept of ‘organs’ includes a specific type of energy that infuses each organ, as well as the energy meridians that channel organ energies to and from other parts of the body.

The Wu Xing, 五行 known as the Five Elements is a concept that traditional Chinese use to explain a wide array of phenomena, from cosmic cycles to the interaction between internal organs. The “Five Elements” are Wood (木 mù), Fire (火 huǒ), Earth (土 tǔ), Metal (金 jīn), and Water (水 shuǐ).

Learn how to identify the Meridian pathways as you move in your own asana practice. This is the perfect season to embrace abundance for your inner self with yoga!